Method for using partial homogeneous charge compression ignition in a diesel internal combustion engine for NOx trap regeneration

ABSTRACT

A method for operating a diesel IC-engine being able to run in a conventional mode and in a partial Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition (pHCCI) mode. The method comprises the features of switching the pHCCI mode from lean pHCCI to rich pHCCI as a response to a control signal indicating that the NO x -absorbent shall be regenerated. In the rich pHCCI mode, the ratio of recirculated exhaust gases is from 20 to 55%. The rich pHCCI mode further comprises the feature of injecting at least 70% of the fuel to be injected in each working cycle in the main injection whereby the central axis of the fuel spray is directed towards the piston bowl cavity. The method will increase the operation window for rich pHCCI which in turn will have the benefits of less oil dilution and better fuel economy while regenerating the NO x -absorbent.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The invention relates to a method for controlling a diesel internal combustion engine being able to run in a conventional mode and in a partial Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition mode (pHCCI). The invention further relates to a method for operating the engine in a rich pHCCI-mode.

BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A major problem for engine manufacturers all over the world is to combine the features of low fuel consumption and low emissions of particulate matter (PM), unburned hydrocarbons (HC), carbon monoxide (CO) and nitrogen oxides (NO_(x)). Generally speaking, there are two different ignition systems for Internal Combustion engines (IC-engines), Spark Ignition (SI) and Compression Ignition (CI) of which the latter is the one generally used for diesel engines. CI-engines, e.g. diesel engines, have an advantage in view of SI-engines regarding the fuel consumption. In order to further reduce the harmful emissions in CI-engines, it has been suggested to run the engines in a partial Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition mode (pHCCI) instead of the conventional mode. The pHCCI mode differs from the conventional mode in that the fuel is more evenly distributed in the piston chamber and more diluted by gases from the Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) system while ignited. In the conventional mode the difference in concentrations of fuel, at different locations in the combustion chamber, will cause the ignition to start at substantially one location. Hence, the ignition will start at the place being most beneficial for a combustion reaction, i.e., when the pressure and temperature in the combustion chamber are high enough to ignite the combustion mixture at the location where the air/fuel mixture (A/F-mixture) is right. Furthermore, the way the fuel is combusted in the combustion chamber will contribute to maintain a lower temperature throughout the combustion which causes less production of NO_(x). In the conventional mode, having heterogeneous charge compression ignition combustion, the burnt gas temperature will be highly heterogeneous with very high local temperatures values creating high NO_(x) emissions. However, when performing this lean pHCCI, like in conventional lean modes, there is still a production of NO_(x) which will be absorbed by a NO_(x)-adsorbing catalyst in an exhaust gas treatment system. To regenerate the NO_(x)-adsorbing catalyst, there is a need to use a rich combustion mode. In U.S. Pat. No. 6,276,130, it is described how an engine is controlled to be run in a Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition (HCCI) mode and while being run in this mode, it can switch between a first, lean A/F-mixture whereby NO_(x) is adsorbed to a second, rich A/F-mixture whereby NO_(x) is released.

However, there are still several problems associated with the regeneration according to U.S. Pat. No. 6,276,130. One major problem is that the suggested mode of operating the engine will have a very small operating window in respect of engine load and speed for fulfilling all the required parameters as set in the patent. This means there will be a need to change from the HCCI-mode rather often and to frequently use the less desirable conventional rich mode. Furthermore, in conventional rich mode, there is always a great risk of oil dilution, i.e. the part of the fuel being injected adheres to the liner of the cylinder and mixes with the oil, when using a rich A/F-mixture. U.S. Pat. No. 6,276,130 is silent as to how this problem can be solved.

Hence, there is a need for an improved and better method for controlling a diesel engine in order to regenerate a NO_(x)-adsorbing catalyst associated with the engine.

The invention relates to a method for regenerating a NO_(x)-adsorbing catalyst coupled downstream of a diesel internal combustion engine, the engine having at least one cylinder, the method including: operating the engine in a lean partial homogeneous charge compression ignition (PHCCI) mode; providing an indication that the catalyst needs to be regenerated; and in response to said indication, switching engine operation to rich PHCCI mode, said rich PHCCI mode characterised in that a ratio of recirculated exhaust gases of 20 to 55% in the gas being admitted to an engine cylinder, said rich pHCCI mode being further characterised in that the central axis of a fuel spray in a main injection for each working cycle is directed towards a piston bowl cavity, said main injection comprising at least 70% of the fuel to be injected in each working cycle.

The indication that the NO_(x)-adsorbing catalyst needs to be regenerated can be based on several different criteria: Direct measurements of the amount of NO_(x) stored in the NO_(x)-absorbent exceeding a certain value, the use of mathematical models based on relevant parameters to estimate a value of stored NO_(x), having a schedule of regeneration cycles to be performed etc. For the purpose of the invention, it is not important how the determination that there shall be a change of pHCCI mode from lean to rich A/F-mixture is arrived at, the invention will work for any suitable way of indicating that a change of modes shall occur.

It is further described that the EGR ratio used in the rich pHCCI mode is from 20 to 55%, i.e. 20 to 55% of the exhaust gases are recirculated mixed with air in order to form the gas admitted to the cylinder, the so called combustion gas. This interval of EGR will allow the rich pHCCI to be performed in a wider range than have been achieved before. Hence, this novel way of controlling the engine will increase the possibility to use rich pHCCI for the engine.

One of the great benefits of this rich pHCCI mode is the reduction of oil dilution associated with the rich regeneration of the NO_(x)-absorbent. As is evident from the claims, the major part of the fuel to be injected is injected in the main injection for each working cycle wherein the central axis of the injected fuel is directed towards the piston bowl cavity. Hence, by using rich pHCCI instead of a rich, conventional mode is it possible to avoid injecting fuel in such a way that it hits the liner of the cylinder which leads to oil dilution problems due to fuel sticking to said liner. Usually when running a diesel engine in a rich mode, there is an early pilot injection and/or one or more late, large post injections. These kinds of injections are usually associated with oil dilution problems. The present idea does not use any large post or pilot injections and avoids or diminishes the problem with oil dilution. As a result of decreased oil dilution, wear of the piston and cylinder will diminish, losses of power due to increased friction between the piston and the cylinder can be avoided and less frequent change of oil will be needed.

Hence, using the method of the present invention provides the advantage of less oil dilution.

A further aspect of the invention is that the rich pHCCI mode is allowed to have a Filter Smoke Number (FSN) value from 0.5 to 3.5. By allowing a higher soot formation, during the rich pHCCI mode, than what is common today, it is possible to extend the rich pHCCI operating window with a beneficial fuel economy and less oil dilution compared to conventional rich combustion mode. As engines have been controlled earlier, they have been forced to switch to conventional mode for regeneration when reaching a certain soot formation as taught for example in U.S. Pat. No. 6,276,130. In contrast to the intuition of a person skilled in the art, whose intuitive thinking would tell him to seek for solutions which suppress the soot formation, it has been surprisingly acknowledged that the allowance of higher soot formation in rich pHCCI may contribute to an overall positive effect with benefits concerning oil dilution and fuel economy. However, since there is allowed a relatively high rate of soot production, this mode of operation is advantageously combined with some kind of soot filter or other exhaust gas treating device adapted to convert the soot to harmless emissions. The FSN number can be measured using the method and instrumentation described in the manual for AVL 415S Variable Sampling Smoke Meter, ID number AT0699E, available from the AVL LIST GMBH, Graz, Austria.

In yet another aspect of the invention, the main injection of said rich pHCCI mode is injected in the interval of 30 degrees Before Top Dead Center (BTDC) to 15 degrees After Top Dead Centre (ATDC), preferably in the interval of 30 degrees BTDC to 9 degrees ATDC. By defining the crank angle interval during which the main injection will occur it can be derived at which angles the fuel shall be injected in order to assure that the main axis of the fuel spray will be directed towards the piston bowl cavity.

In another aspect of the invention, the temperature of said gas being admitted to the cylinder, i.e. the temperature of the combustion gas entering the cylinder, during said rich pHCCI mode is in the interval of 60 to 200 degrees Celsius, preferably in the interval of 60 to 130 degrees Celsius. In order to achieve a more homogeneous fuel mixture, it is suggested to use a relatively low temperature of the inlet gas in order to let the injected fuel have time to spread and mix with the combustion gas in the combustion chamber. A lowering of the temperature of the combustion gas will result in a reduction of soot formation which in turn will widen the operation window for rich pHCCI combustion.

In a further aspect of the invention, the rich pHCCI mode further comprises a pilot and/or a post injection in a working cycle wherein the fuel injected in the pilot and/or post injection vaporises before it reaches a liner of a cylinder wall, if it is directed towards the liner. The use of a small pilot and/or post injection may contribute to stabilise the combustion and widen the operating window in which it is possible to perform rich pHCCI. To avoid that the fuel reaches the liner it is important that these injections are relatively small. It may also help if the injected fuel is atomised so that the fuel may mix with the combustion gas and diffuse into the gas.

In yet another aspect of the invention there is only one single main injection injected in each working cycle in the rich pHCCI mode. Hence, all fuel injected in a working cycle in said rich pHCCI mode is injected in the main injection. By injecting all the fuel at one time, in the main injection, it can be assured that all the fuel will be directed towards the piston bowl cavity. For a large part of the operating area, this will be the optimal injection strategy for lowest fuel consumption and emissions during the regeneration.

The above advantages and other advantages, and features of the present invention will be readily apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, and from the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The advantages described herein will be more fully understood by reading an example of an embodiment in which the invention is used to advantage, referred to herein as the Description of Preferred Embodiment, with reference to the drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a schematic drawing of a cylinder of an engine;

FIG. 2 is a schematic drawing of an engine set up with an exhaust gas treating system;

FIG. 3 is a graph of PHCCI and rich pHCCI operation window;

FIG. 4 is a graph of the rich pHCCI operation window indicating rate of soot formation in different areas;

FIG. 5 is a graph of the regeneration timing with rich pHCCI; and

FIG. 6 is a schematic drawing of the fuel spray injected at different instants of a combustion cycle.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT(S)

FIG. 1 shows a schematic illustration of a cylinder of an internal combustion engine according to the invention. The engine is provided with at least one cylinder 1 and comprises a fuel injector 2, through which fuel is injected into a combustion chamber 3, for each cylinder. A fuel injection control unit 4 controls the timing and quantity of fuel injected through each fuel injector during a combustion cycle. A piston 5 in the engine cylinder has a compression action that causes a mixture of air and fuel within the combustion chamber to be ignited by compression ignition. The cylinder is provided with at least one inlet valve 6 for admitting gas, the so called combustion gas, which includes fresh air into said cylinder and at least one exhaust valve 7 for exhaust gases from said cylinder. The piston is further provided with a piston bowl cavity 8. Combustion gas is supplied through an intake conduit 9 connected to an intake manifold, while exhaust gas is exhausted through an exhaust conduit 10.

The control unit receives signals from at least one sensor for measuring engine operation parameters, which sensors include a combustion chamber pressure sensor 11, an intake manifold pressure sensor 12 and a O-probe 13 in the exhaust conduit, as well as temperature sensors for intake air 14, engine coolant 15 and engine oil 16. The control unit controls the intake and exhaust valves 6, 7 by means of valve actuators 17, 18. The actuators may be either electrically or mechanically operated.

In FIG. 2, a set up of an internal combustion engine is shown. The engine 19 is connected to the intake conduits 9, one for each cylinder, connected to an intake manifold 20 through which gas is to be admitted to the cylinders 1, while exhaust gas is exhausted through exhaust conduits 10 which are assembled into an exhaust manifold 21. A part of the exhaust gases from the exhaust manifold 21 may be recirculated to the intake manifold 20 through an Exhast Gas Recirculation (EGR) conduit 22. The conduit is provided with a cooler 23 followed by a EGR throttle 24 downstream in order to control the amount of exhaust gases to be recirculated. The EGR conduit 22 is connected to the air intake conduit 25. The air intake conduit is provided with a filter 26 and a turbo charger 27 driven by the exhaust gases. Downstream the turbo, there is an intercooler 28 and an air throttle 29 in order to control the flow of intake air. The part of the exhaust gases which are not recirculated are led through the exhaust gas treatment system. The exhaust gases from the combustion which not are recirculated passes first a turbo charger 27 and downstream there is a NO_(x)-absorbent 30 followed by a particulate filter 31.

The engine and exhaust gas treatment set up may be changed in several ways, for example the cooler of the EGR conduit may be provided with a bypass conduit. Furthermore, the EGR conduit may be a short or long route EGR conduit. Long route EGR is a form of low pressure EGR where the exhaust gas is taken after the turbine and admitted before the compressor. At present, the throttle of the EGR conduit is located on the cold side of the EGR cooler but it may as well be positioned on the hot side. The particulate filter is located downstream the NO_(x)-absorbent in the example above. However, the particulate filter could also be placed upstream the NO_(x)-absorbent. In addition, the exhaust gas treatment may also comprise an oxidation catalyst or other gas treating arrangements. Furthermore, the engine is exemplified as a 5-cylinder engine. The basic principle of the inventive idea would work for any number of cylinders in a diesel IC-engine. Likewise, the configuration of the EGR conduit and the intake air conduit with its cooling and filtering systems can also be arranged in different ways. The skilled person in the art realises this is just an example of arrangements in order to control the temperature of the resulting gas to be admitted to the cylinders, the so called combustion gas, and to control the amount and ratios of recirculated exhaust gases and intake air to form the resulting combustion gas.

The rich and lean pHCCI operation windows are shown in FIG. 3 as a function of Break Mean Effective Pressure (BMEP) and engine speed. The rich pHCCI operation window is limited at higher loads by a value of 3.50 FSN. The smoke value is allowed to be this high due to the following reasons: First, the engine shall at conditions outside the rich pHCCI operation window, but inside the lean pHCCI operation window, be operated in lean pHCCI which produces low engine out emissions such as PM and NO_(x). Secondly, if there are to large emissions of particulate matter in the rich pHCCI mode, the exhaust gas treatment system can be provided with a particulate filter. The highest load depends primarily on boosting of the combustion gas and cooling of the exhaust gases recirculated through the EGR conduit, which plays a major role for keeping the temperature of the combustion gas admitted to the cylinder low. Sufficient EGR-cooling and a turbo that gives enough pressure of the combustion gas, e.g. a two stage turbo system or a Variable Geometry Compressor (VGC) and turbine, will result in a large operation window and the rich pHCCI have been possible to operate up to 8 BMEP (bar) in experiments. Further improvements in EGR cooling will increase the operating window further and make the pHCCI be operable for even higher BMEP. The operation windows shown in FIG. 3 shall not be considered as defining absolute numbers wherein the different modes are operable, but rather as a general definition about in which areas more or less the different modes are possible and the extension of the windows compared to each other.

However, as can be seen in FIG. 4, the operation window will always be larger if a higher smoke value is allowed. The rich pHCCI operation window is divided in two parts: A first, checked area wherein the FSN value is about 0.01 to 1.5 and a second, striped area wherein the FSN value is about 1.5 to 3.5. As a rough estimation, half the operation window will disappear if the smoke value is limited to be below 1.5 FSN. By increasing this window, by the use of the features as described in claim 1 of the present invention, the possibility to use the rich pHCCI mode in regeneration of the NO_(x)-absorbent will increase. Furthermore, the relatively low ratio of EGR in the rich pHCCI mode, as compared to for example U.S. Pat. No. 6,276,130, will contribute to make it easier to keep the temperature of the intake gas mixture to the cylinders low.

The operation window shown in FIG. 4 can be enlarged by controlling parameters towards desired values. For example, when the upper limit concerning the load is reached, the window can be extended in the direction indicated by arrow “A” in the figure, to allow operation at higher loads. This can be achieved by increasing the amount of air admitted to the cylinder and/or reducing the temperature of the combustion gas. A reduction of the combustion gas temperature will also extend the operation window in the direction indicated by arrow “B”, to allow higher engine speed, when the upper engine speed limit is reached. Extension of the operation window in the direction indicated by arrow “C”, i.e. to allow rich pHCCI operation at lower loads when the lower load limit is reached, can be achieved by increasing the temperature of the combustion gas.

Under rich pHCCI conditions at low load, the temperature of the combustion gas is low and this might result in slow combustion, misfires and instabilities in the combustion. In order to increase the gas temperature, a higher EGR temperature may be obtained for example by using an EGR cooler bypass and/or a pre-catalyst in the EGR conduit. Another way of increasing the combustion gas temperature, alone or together with the raise of temperature of the recirculated gases, is to increase the temperature of the intake air by, for example, letting the intake air bypass the intercooler. The limit at lower torques will be extended and the operation window for the rich pHCCI mode will be expanded. Furthermore, in order to stabilise the combustion in this region of the operating window, a small pilot injection might help.

The larger the rich pHCCI operation window will be, the less need there is for the rich conventional regeneration mode to be used and thus an improved performance of the engine concerning the problem with oil dilution will be achieved. The rich pHCCI will also reduce the fuel consumption when compared to conventional rich combustion.

The rich pHCCI mode allows high EGR rates and requires a low amount of air in the combustion compared to other rich strategies. The low amount of air will make it possible to use a lower amount of fuel to reach a certain Lambda. Thus, the regeneration will have a better fuel economy compared to other rich strategies. Another property of the rich pHCCI mode is that it is very easy to reduce Lambda compared to the conventional rich mode.

As shown in FIG. 5, the rich conventional mode is compared with the rich pHCCI mode. The lower fuel consumption is the result of either performing the regeneration using the same Lambda value with better fuel economy for the same regeneration period, or using a lower Lambda and a shorter regeneration period, which will improve fuel economy even more.

What is evident is that the fuel consumption, while performing a regeneration of the Nox-adsorbing catalyst in a rich pHCCI mode, can be lower than when performing the regeneration in a conventional rich combustion. With the above described features of the present invention it is enabled to use this advantageous mode in a larger range of driving conditions than what has been possible before.

FIG. 6 illustrates the feature of the direction of a fuel spray 32 in relation to the position of the piston 5 and the piston bowl cavity 8. The fuel spray 32 is injected by the fuel injector 2. As can be seen in FIG. 6 a, the central axis of the fuel spray 32, represented by the continuous, middle line of the spray 32, is directed toward the piston bowl cavity 8. This corresponds to the circumstance when the fuel is injected in the main injection. The spray is mainly focused near its central axis. Due to a number of factors, for example the construction of the nozzle and the spray head, the spray will diffuse and be more spread around its central axis further away from the nozzle head. The diffusion or spreading of the spray is represented by the dotted lines on either side of the continuous line. In FIG. 6 a, the complete fuel spray 32 will be within the piston bowl cavity.

In FIG. 6 b, the fuel spray 32 is shown as usually operated in the late post or early pilot injection. As can be seen in the figure, the central axis of the fuel spray 32 is directed towards the liner 33.

The present invention suggests a fuel injection strategy which solves the problem with oil dilution which might arise due to injection of fuel as described in FIG. 6 b. Usually when operating a diesel engine in a rich mode, there is an early, large pilot injection and/or one or more late, large post injections. In these injections, usually at least half of the fuel for each working cycle is injected. These kinds of injections are usually associated with oil dilution problems due to fuel being directed towards and hitting the cylinder liner so as to stick at said cylinder liner.

A first way of preventing this problem is to only inject fuel in one, single main injection. In this case, all of the fuel injected in a working cycle will be directed towards the piston bowl cavity as shown in FIG. 6 a. A second way of solving this problem, which is illustrated in FIG. 6 c, is to only inject a small amount of fuel in the pilot and/or the post injections so that the fuel spray 32, when injected in a direction towards the cylinder liner 33, will vaporise or mix with the combustion air before it reaches the cylinder liner 33. In FIG. 6 c, the timing of the injection is the same as in FIG. 6 b, but due to injection of less fuel there will be no fuel which reaches the liner 33. Hence, by avoiding any large pilot or post injections, wherein the fuel spray not is directed towards the piston bowl cavity, the problem with oil dilution due to the fuel strategy associated with the rich A/F-mixture operation mode of a diesel engine can be and avoided or diminished.

This concludes the description of the invention. The reading of it by those skilled in the art would bring to mind many alterations and modifications without departing from the spirit and the scope of the invention. Accordingly, it is intended that the scope of the invention be defined by the following claims: 

1. A method for regenerating a NOx-adsorbing catalyst coupled downstream of a diesel internal combustion engine, the engine having at least one cylinder, the method comprising: operating the engine in a lean partial homogeneous charge compression ignition (PHCCI) mode; providing an indication that the catalyst needs to be regenerated; and in response to said indication, switching engine operation to rich PHCCI mode, said rich PHCCI mode characterised in that a ratio of recirculated exhaust gases of 20 to 55% in the gas being admitted to an engine cylinder, said rich pHCCI mode being further characterised in that the central axis of a fuel spray in a main injection for each working cycle is directed towards a piston bowl cavity, said main injection comprising at least 70% of the fuel to be injected in each working cycle.
 2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that said main injection of fuel in said rich pHCCI mode is injected in the interval of 30 degrees Before Top Dead Center (BTDC) to 15 degrees After Top Dead Centre (ATDC), preferably in the interval of 30 degrees BTDC to 9 degrees ATDC.
 3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that the temperature of said gas being admitted to the cylinder during said rich pHCCI mode is in the interval of 60 to 200 degrees Celsius, preferably in the interval of 60 to 130 degrees Celsius.
 4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that said rich PHCCI mode further comprises a pilot and/or a post injection in a working cycle wherein said fuel injected in the pilot and/or post injection vaporises before it reaches a liner of a cylinder wall, if the fuel spray is directed towards the liner.
 5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that all fuel injected in a working cycle in said rich PHCCI mode is injected in the main injection. 